Ranma Palantir
by Foxgrad
Summary: 2nd Bet fic. Ranma/LOTR crossoverSoon after the Neko-ken training, Ranma finds a mysterious object and his life changes forever.


Ranma Palantir  
A 2nd Bet fic  
by Foxgrad  
  
Disclaimer: All Ranma 1/2 characters created by Rumiko Takahashi and published by Viz. All Lord of the Rings characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien and published by Ballantine Books.  
  
***Mimir's Well***  
  
  
"Hey, Foxie! Looks like we've got another customer!"  
Great Fox, known for the time being as "Foxie," winced slightly at the nickname but turned to look where his feline companion, Toltiir, was looking. Off in the distance a small form was wandering towards them. As it drew closer Toltiir stood in surprise.  
"Well, a hobbit! We don't see many of your kind around these parts."  
"Can't say I'm suprised, good sirs. We hobbits tend to stick close to home. Me, I'd gladly be back home. My adventuring days are long behind me. Still, there's something I've been itching to do for a while now, with you good sirs' permission. I understand this Well can let you see things, well, people I mean to say, once you get right down to it. See, there's someone I haven't seen for a long while, even before I passed on, and I was hoping, with your permission, of course, to check up on him."  
"Of course, of course, Mr. ?"  
"Oh, begging your pardon, sirs! Where are my manners at? The name's Samwise Gamgee. Pleased to meet you." Great Fox made a strange noise that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a cough. Toltiir arched an eyebrow, but turned his attention back to the hobbit. Introductions were quickly finished, and the conversation turned back to the subject at hand. "Well, good sirs, I was hoping you fine gentlemen," Great Fox made the same noise again, but slightly louder, "would be so kind as to let me use this Bet of yours to check up on a distinguished hobbit by the name of Frodo Baggins. I don't doubt he's just doing fine in the Undying Lands with Gandalf and Bilbo and the rest, but, well, I've been on the other side of life now for quite a long time now, and one gets to hearing things. When I was alive I thought there weren't nothing could bring trouble to the place where Frodo and the others went, but, well, like I said I've been hearing things. About people and things (nasty things, mind you) that could make a trip to the Undying Lands just as easy as they could step through a door. I'm sure everyone's fine with the likes of Gandalf and Galadriel there, but I'd just like to make sure, with your permission, of course."  
"Certainly, my fine hobbit. Of course, you'd have to enter the Bet. We let you use the Well, you provide us with a little entertainment. Fair's fair, after all."  
"Well, sirs, I'm not exactly what you'd call the gambling sort. Er... and to be perfectly honest I'm not too clear what sort of game you folks are playing here...."  
"That's easily fixed," replied Toltiir, a little too quickly. In short order he had explained the concept of the Second Bet and how it would work to the venerable hobbit. Great Fox knew his old friend was up to something, but held his tongue. After all, this could be quite entertaining.  
"So, if I don't win the Bet, this planar thing will disappear? Just as if I hadn't made an entry?"  
"That's right."  
"Ah, that's good. So, no matter how badly I muck things up, things will go back to the way they were just so long as I don't win the Bet. That's a relief, and no mistake. I'd hate to think how much trouble I could cause by messin' about with things like this. Since I'm sure there's no way a simple hobbit like myself could come up with anything more interesting than all these other fine folk, it won't make no difference, right?"  
"That's right. Now step up to the Well, and I'll teach you how it works."  
Several minutes later Sam was grinning from ear to ear. "Well, now, that's quite a relief. I was sure Frodo and the others were alright. I don't know why I was getting myself so worried over nothing. Well, a deal's a deal. Show me this Ranma fellow, and I'll drop my pebble, and I'll be on my way. Rosie's won't let me hear the end of this for days, but it was worth it."  
The reflection in the Well rippled, and the images inside it changed. Sam was quickly shown the highlights of the life of one Ranma Saotome. Sam's mood quickly went from jovial to shocked to enraged. The little hobbit was hopping up and down and sputtering incomplete sentences like, "I just can't....How could any father....the poor child, the poor child....that's just not....If I was there, I'd have....That won't solve....Don't...." Toltiir mercifully cut the show short before Sam had to witness Ranma's nightmarish marriage to Akane. The hobbit took a few minutes to calm himself down enough to speak rationally, but the anger shining in his eyes never dimmed. "I just can't believe anyone could be so cruel to his own son! If Strider had happened across that fool while he was torturing young Ranma with those 'training exercises' he'd have learned his lesson right quick! Or he'd be a head shorter! Of course, Ranma goes on to be just as much a fool as his old man, but that's hardly his fault. Every time Ranma tried to do something to better himself that fool of a father would put a stop to it. Imagine, punishing your son for doing well at school! And don't get me started on that pit full of cats. That was just plain cruel. I'll bet even Sauron never did anything like that!"  
"You could do something to stop it, you know. All it would take is a pebble."  
Sam turned towards Toltiir and blinked. "Yes, you're right. I hadn't planned on making a serious try in this Bet of yours, didn't even want to try to win. Now I suppose I'd better at least make an effort. It's better than doing nothing."  
Sam picked up a pebble and started pacing beside the well. He frowned in thought as he wracked his brain, trying to figure out a way to help Ranma. As he thought he began absent-mindedly tossing the pebble up and catching it. Toltiir watched the pebble like a hawk, waiting for just the right moment, waiting...waiting....  
Now!  
"ORCS!" he suddenly shouted. The results were everything he had hoped for. Sam jerked suddenly in surprise, and the pebble went sailing out of his hand. Up it sailed, up, up, until finally it made it's descent.  
Right into Mimir's Well.  
Sam tried to catch the pebble, but his arms were too short. The pebble plopped down right between the Ranma timeline and the one he had been looking at before.  
Toltiir raced up to the rim of the Well to see what his mischief had created. Sam was there, too, wringing his hands and hoping against hope that he hadn't made poor Ranma's life worse. He shot a quick glare at Toltiir, who pretended not to notice, but quickly turned his attention back to the Well.   
  
  
  
***Japan, ten years ago***  
  
  
A small boy covered in scratches and bite marks sat beside a stream. He sniffled quietly as he fought back the tears. He couldn't believe it! It just wasn't possible. How could his father have thrown him into that pit of cats over and over and over again? This last time had been the worst. The cats had long since stopped being afraid of him. They simply came at him, swarms of teeth and claws and horrible glowing eyes, all trying to get at the fish tied to his body. Then...then what had happened? One minute he was being ripped to shreds by a horde of hungry cats, then he was sitting on that nice neighbor lady's lap. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there. His father had said he'd started acting like a cat. That he had started acting crazy.  
Crazy.  
Ranma was young, but he knew what happened to crazy people. They got locked up. They'd lock him up forever if anybody found out about him. His father had told him so. He promised he wouldn't tell anybody Ranma was crazy, but he'd have to do exactly what Genma said so no one would find out.   
Ranma sniffled some more as he angrily tried to wash the fish smell off of himself in the stream. As he jammed one of his hands into the water, he touched something. It didn't feel like a rock, at least not like the kinds of rocks one found on stream beds. Curious, he reached back into the water and pulled the object out.  
It looked like some kind of fancy bowling ball to Ranma, except it had no holes. As he turned it this way and that in his hands, he could feel something inside the ball, some kind of power. He slowly stopped turning the ball over and over in his hands, and simply sat and stared into it. He didn't know how long he sat there just staring into his find, but suddenly something happened.  
The ball spoke to him.  
  
  
***The Undying Lands***  
  
  
Galadriel sat quietly beside the river, enjoying the soft breeze and the scent of the elanor blooms and listening to the elf songs in the distance. She enjoyed these moments of peace. She had had far too few of them back on Middle-Earth. As one of those who bore a Ring of Power, her life had been full of many things, but peace was not one of them. It was constant battle to remain in control of the ring, to not let it become her master as the human kings had done.   
That was all in the past now. Her people were forever safe from Sauron. They spent their days perfecting their skills of artistry and poetry, laughing, singing, telling tales, and performing feats of skill. Every day was filled with joy and fellowship.   
So why was Mithrandir hurrying toward her with a pensive look on his face?  
Galadriel rose to her feet and walked to meet her old friend. Mithrandir, known as Gandalf to the race of Men, quickly closed the gap between them. "Lady Galadriel," he said, "I must speak with you."  
"Of course, Mithrandir, say what you will."  
Gandalf grimaced slightly. "Actually, I also have something I must show you. Will you come with me?"  
Galadriel nodded and followed Gandalf back to his home. For all his deeds on Middle-Earth, he could have asked for a grand home, a palace, in fact. Instead, he lived in a small, modest dwelling built into the side of a hill. It was crammed full of books and papers, scrolls and parchments. Galadriel followed her old friend through the library and into what appeared to be a storage room. Gandalf turned and said, "I suppose I should have told you about this long ago, but, well, somehow I never got around to it." So saying, he touched a certain stone on the back wall of the room and quietly said a word of power. A secret door suddenly opened. It led into a larger room lit by torches. In the center of the room was a pedastel, and on the pedastel was....  
"A palantir!" gasped Galadriel. "What in the name of the Valinor are you doing with one?"  
Gandalf shrugged in an almost sheepish manner. "Keeping an eye on things in Middle-Earth," he replied. "I know my role there was to be the enemy of Sauron, but somehow I just couldn't let go of my old responsibilities. I stumbled across it just before we came here. Don't worry, it's not the one Sauron used. It's quite untainted. I'm sure by now even that palantir has become safe to use."  
Galadriel had her doubts as to the last, but trusted Gandalf to be wary enough to not have brought a palantir with him from Middle-Earth unless he was positive it was safe. "Why have you shown me this now?"  
Gandalf sighed and said, "Perhaps you should see for yourself."  
Galadriel stepped closer and peered into the globe. Suddenly she saw an image in its depths...the image of young boy.  
  
  
  
***Japan, later that day***  
  
Ranma sat just outside the light of the campfire. His father was snoring soundly, but he didn't want to take any chances. Genma refused to allow Ranma to do anything that would distract him from the Art. Ranma was sure talking to people with a magic ball would qualify. He sat with his back to where Genma was snoring away, and concentrated on the ball again. Slowly an image formed inside the ball, then suddenly snapped into focus. It was the Old Man again. Ranma struggled for a moment to remember his name, then it suddenly came to him. Gandalf. Ranma smiled into the ball and whispered, "Hi, Gandalf. It's me, Ranma."  
"Yes, of course it's you. I doubt two people would stumble upon a palantir in one day." The gruff face of the wizard softened slowly into a smile. "Have you thought about what I said?"  
"You mean about leaving Pop? I...I just don't know. I mean where can I go? What can I do?"  
"Well, I have a few thoughts about that. Don't worry, I won't abandon you. But the first thing you must decide is if you are going to stay with that fool of a father of yours or not."  
Ranma was silent for a moment. "I...I don't know. I mean, he promised he wouldn't throw me into any more pits full of cats."  
"Ranma, listen to me. I am genuinely afraid for your life. You told me that your father threw you into that pit not once, but many times. I can't begin to tell you how insanely dangerous that was, not to mention how cruel. And all because a book he read told him it would make you into an unbeatable fighter, even though the next page told him that the technique was dangerous and banned. I was watching him through my palantir when he read it. He barely even blinked. He acted like what he had done to you was of no real importance. You must get away from him before he does something like this again."  
Ranma shut his eyes as a few tears flowed down his cheeks. This was the hardest, most painful decision he had had to make in his young life. He thought back to the Neko-ken training, saw again in his mind's eyes the stern and compassionless expression on his father's face as he watched Ranma getting torn up by the hunger-crazed cats. He remembered how his father had berated him whenever he would pull him out of the pit, and Ranma would have no super-powerful technique to show him. He remembered Genma's scorn every time Ranma displayed his every-increasing fear of cats. He remembered how Genma refused to show any remorse even after Ranma had finally cracked under the strain and gone temporarily mad. In fact, Genma had acted like Ranma had wronged him when he had attacked the fat fool in his maddened cat state. Ranma took a deep breath and looked again into the palantir. He slowly nodded.  
The face in the palantir shimmered and was replaced by another. "Galadriel!" exclaimed Ranma. He felt his cheeks grow a little red as he looked at the beautiful elf queen.   
Galadriel smiled at him and said, "I'm very proud of you, Ranma. Now, you must go quickly. When you are far enough away from your father, use the palantir to contact us again. We will give you directions to a safe place you can stay."  
Ranma nodded and set the palantir down. He crept back to his campsite and quietly collected his few meager belongings. Then he returned to the palantir, put it into his backpack, and took off into the night.   
  
  
Where to go from here? I'm sure the first place Gandalf will think to send him is to the dwarves. It would be interesting to see what had happened to them since the events of the Lord of the Rings. There may be other places Gandalf would think to send him. Perhaps some old place of power where there may be some sort of mystical protection for the boy. Perhaps there is an Ent or two in Japan.   
What would Ranma do? Since he has a palantir, the possibilities are wide open. A palantir will allow him to see anyplace on earth, and also into the past, so he may use it to hunt down escaped criminals for the reward. He may use it to help the police or find lost children. He could check up on the dwarves and the hobbits. He could become a sort of modern-day Ranger, perhaps even shutting down SEELE before they can cause Second Impact. (Gendo Ikari: And we would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for that rotten kid!)  
A palantir can be used to contact other people who have a palantir through a form of artificial telepathy. This would allow Ranma to learn wizardry from Gandalf and elvish skills from Galadriel. If Gandalf and Galadriel tell others about Ranma he may learn archery from Legolas or dwarvish skills from Gimli. Elves are always depicted as being exceptional musicians, so there is the possibility of Ranma becoming a famous musician of some sort.  
It is possible for an evil person who has a palantir to corrupt someone else who is using one. Therefore, Ranma may devote some time to finding the other five Seeing-Stones and making sure they don't fall into the wrong hands. He may also have to track down other items of power before they can be misused. This may lead him into conflict with the Amazons.  
There is still room in this fic for one more crossover. There are plenty of possibilities there, especially if one of the other Seeing-Stones gets found by a character in a different series. Imagine Rei from Sailor Moon finding one and getting tutored by Gandalf.   
Other ways of creating a crossover? Like I said, Ranma could become Gandalf's apprentice. A botched spell could cause someone or more than one person from a different series to suddenly show up. Possibilities include Rurouni Kenshin, Record of Lodoss War, Dirty Pair, Trigun, or others.  
Will others from Ranma 1/2 show up? That's certainly a possibility. Ukyou is still out there trying hunt Ranma down. If the sign of a certain dojo in Nerima catches his eye, Ranma may meet the Tendos.   
This Ranma, being under the influence of two of the wisest characters in The Lord of the Rings, will naturally be much wiser and more ethical than he was in the original series. He won't allow himself to be manipulated by Nabiki or anyone. He also wouldn't allow himself to be forced into a marriage or to commit seppuku.   
Well, that's all from me. I'll try to finish some more fics for the Second Bet. Bye.  
  
P.S. Palantir, when used as a name, means "The Far-Seeing."  
  
P.P.S. AnimeAddiction Rules!!! 


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